


Vincere est Vivere

by Avaranti



Category: The Flash (TV 2014), The Flash - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-04-16 02:05:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14154318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avaranti/pseuds/Avaranti
Summary: There is a reason Harry doesn’t like to be touched and it isn’t because Cisco might accidentally vibe him.  Earth 2 is a world where the strong prey on the weak.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this is a first, hopefully it'll be good, if short... Enjoy

Earth 1, Police Station:  
Joe considered himself a observant man in his own right. Now, Cisco, Barry, and, he was loathe to admit, Dr. Wells? They were geniuses. Compared to them, he was an idiot. But he had this sixth sense of sorts, one that he’d learned to listen to over the years, one that made him a good cop. And that feeling was currently screaming at him that something was wrong with Dr. Wells. Something about his dislike of touch, his fear of them, hidden under all those insults, his refusal to come within a few feet of them unless he had to… It wasn’t right. In anyone else, he’d say rape and that would be that, but it wasn’t anyone else, it was Wells. Arrogant, infuriating, Wells. If it were anything else, he’d chalk it up to the man sharing the face of their Harrison Wells. But it wasn’t. That feeling he had was saying that Harrison Wells had been raped. Repeatedly.


	2. Parva Sub Ingenti

Earth 2, a few weeks later:  
They weren’t following him. Those idiots! Absolute morons! Didn’t they know it was dangerous for them to be anywhere without him? With him, they had his protection - he was known to have killed people. It may have been called self-defense, but everyone knew better: he’d hunted them down and killed them purposefully. Without him, though, they were just two no-names, vulnerable, helpless, even. Worse, there were still people who remembered… Harry shook himself.  
“Ramon! Not in a sightseeing tour,” he called back.  
Ramon said something about their posterity. Whatever.  
“Dr. Wells! Welcome back!”  
Ah, there was one of the few people he would actually be pleased to see: Henry Hewitt.  
“Henry.”  
“We weren’t expecting you!”  
Just then there was a startled yelp. He closed his eyes, trying not to sigh.  
“Yes, I-I didn’t tell anyone I was coming back.”  
“I thought you might have left town with all that’s been happening,” Henry said, giving the two a disturbed look before also choosing to ignore the cry. Thank God Henry was so discreet.  
“Right,” Harry said  
“Are you friends ok?” he heard. Or maybe Henry was just deaf and hadn’t heard them.  
“Ah, yes, they’re fine, they’re…” he cocked his head, trying to find the least insulting word he could. He nodded, yes, that would do “...excitable.”  
Henry nodded and, once again, Harry sent his thanks heavenward.  
“Th-this is, um-”  
“Henry Hewitt, lab assistant. Pleased to make your acquaintance,” Henry continued smoothly, holding out a hand.  
This exchange seemed to startle the two idiots out of there stupor.  
“And you, I’m Ci- Barry and this is Cisco,” stammered Barry while he shook Henry’s hand. Harry closed his eyes, had Barry really been about to introduce himself as Cisco?  
“I’m Cisco,” Cisco repeated, also shaking Henry’s hand. Harry nearly sighed in relief, nothing was going wrong. “And you are just... a nice, normal guy.”   
Harry closed his eyes. These were the saviors of Central City? He should kill himself now and save Zoom the effort and pleasure.  
“Okay, um,” said Harry hurriedly, cutting off the exchange before Cisco could get himself into trouble.  
“Dr. Wells, will you and your… visitors be needing the conference room?” asked Henery.   
Henry was an absolute angel.  
“Unnecessary, Henry, our visit will be short” said Harry, smiling to show the offer was appreciated.  
Henry nodded, smiling and bouncing even more than usual, Harry wasn’t aware that was possible.  
“Good to see you,” said Harry.  
“Good to see you, Sir,” Henry agreed, that fixed smile still in place as he walked off.  
As soon as he was out of earshot, Harry pivoted, glaring silently at the two as he waited for an explanation.  
“He-he’s a bad guy in on Earth 1,” Cisco said while Barry nodded frantically.  
“He looks just like him,” Barry added.  
“Well,” Harry growled, “If you would keep up and pay attention, this wouldn’t be a problem.”  
With that, he turned and stalked off.  
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Harrison Wells and some newbies, you brought us fresh meat?” said a voice.  
Harry sighed, this was the last person he wanted to deal with. Standing there was a man with a smile that would seem joking except he was Smith.  
Harry turned, glaring at him, “No, they are not fresh meat. They are under my protection. I trust you know what that means, Smith?”  
Smith paled, “Yes, yes, I do. So, who are they?”  
“That’s hardly your concern,” Harry snarled. He turned and walked away.  
“What was that about?” asked Barry when they got outside.  
“Nothing, just a colleague,” replied Harry shortly.  
“Didn’t look like nothing,” Cisco muttered but he didn’t say anything else, so Harry just ignored him.  
When they got to his home, Harry sighed, he thought these two were just dense. Now, he was beginning to realize they were complete, utter imbeciles. Didn’t they know how much danger they were in?  
“Alright,” he said when they got inside. “Kitchen straight ahead, bedrooms to the right, Cisco take the first one, Barry you can have the second.”  
Cisco opened his mouth, but Harry cut him off, “Or switch, I don’t care, I really don’t care. Now, ground rules: one: do not leave this house without me, two: do not go into that room or that one, three: do not leave this house without me, four: if anyone comes here, you will hide. That’s about it… Oh, five: do not leave this house without me.”  
“Why can’t we go anywhere without you?” asked Barry.  
Harry looked at him like he’d grown an extra head. Extra head, hmmm, might be helpful, actually. But that was beside the point, “I’m the only one who knows anything about this world, has any reputation, any money… Did you think I was going to let you run off?”  
Their faces showed that that was exactly what they thought.  
Harry sighed, “Look, you aren’t going to go out there and mess up my world, I happen to like it how it is.” Not entirely true, but they needn’t know that.  
“Fine, fine, yes, we’ll stay here,” said Barry, but a look in his eye told Harry that was the last thing he planned on doing.  
“Good,” said Harry.


	3. Ophidia in Herba

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgot to mention it, but the last chapter title "Parva Sub Ingenti" translates to "Small under the huge" and means that the small are protected by the strong. This chapter title translates to "Snake in the grass" which refers to an unknown or hidden danger.

That night:  
Cisco waited until he was sure Barry and Harry were asleep and quietly opened his door. Slowly, he sneaked down the hallway. He was almost to the door when he ran into something, causing him to nearly scream in surprise.  
“Where are you going?” Barry whispered.  
Cisco sighed in relief, “Same thing you are, come on.”  
They snuck out of the house, aware of each creak of the floor, each time they bumped an unfamiliar object, the grate of the hinges on Harry’s back door. As soon as they got outside, they bolted, eager to put as much distance as possible between them and the house.  
A few blocks later, they stopped to catch their breath.  
“Well, where shall we go?” asked Barry.  
Cisco shrugged.  
They walked, not talking much, eventually reaching S.T.A.R. Labs.  
“Looks pretty different here, doesn’t it?” asked Cisco.  
“Yeah,” Barry whispered, very different.  
Quickly, they realized the layout was very similar to Earth 1’s.  
“Reckon Joe’s still a police officer?” asked Barry.  
“One way to find out,” said Cisco.  
Barry laughed, “Alright, let’s go.”  
“May I help you, Gentleman?” asked a voice, suddenly.  
Barry and Cisco spun.  
“Ah, no, we were-were-”  
“Go on,” the man said.  
“We were just looking for-for Henry Hewitt,” blurted Barry.  
“Hewitt? Why?” asked the man suspiciously.  
“We’re supposed to be working here, it’s our first day, we can’t seem to figure out how to get in,” said Barry.  
“You’re working under him? You do realize he’s a lab assistant, don’t you?” said the man.  
“What? Ah, no, we aren’t working under him, we’re working with him, we’re lab assistants as well,” said Barry.  
“You do realize, don’t you, that we have a dress code? Formal attire, only,” continued the man.  
“Y-yes, we must have forgotten, I-”  
“No matter, come, you can help me with something, seeing as you here and not able to do anything, I-”  
“-will go away and leave them with me.”


	4. Sub Silentio

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title means "Under Silence" and is synonymous with the word tacit.

Harry woke with a start, hand reaching for his gun. Quickly, he got up and went into the hallway, already knowing what had happened. It was only 1:00 in the morning! Sure enough, Barry and Cisco’s doors were open. Cursing he hurried to put on a coat and go outside. Where might they have gone? They must have figured out by now that this world had the same basic layout… Maybe to S.T.A.R. Labs? Wouldn’t hurt to check there first, that or the police station. No, no, the Labs to get there bearings, then they would have gone to explore.  
As he approached S.T.A.R. Labs, he saw a colleague talking to Cisco and Barry, who were both obviously lying. Really, they were such bad liars, they deserved whatever they got. He was tempted to turn around and leave, but something compelled him to stay.  
“No matter, come, you can help me with something, seeing as you here and not able to do anything, I-”  
Before he could stop himself, Harry was stalking towards them, nevermind, he was getting involved. Knowing Earth 1, this kind of thing was probably illegal and he’d get flayed for it later.  
“-will go away and leave them with me,” Harry finished the sentence for him.  
The man, Harry couldn’t quite remember his name, it had hardly been worth remembering, paled.  
“D-Dr. Wells, I-I-”  
“You heard me, these two are under my protection, we’ll talk later,” Harry interrupted the man with a calm he was far from feeling.  
The man scampered away. Suddenly, the fear Harry had been feeling was gone and Harry swung to face the terrible twosome.  
“Exactly what did you think you were doing,” he snarled, rage twisting his features.  
Both of them cowered slightly, stepping away from them.  
Harry took a deep breath, “You know what? I don’t want to know, come with me, we’re going to go back to my house and then we are going to make plans for the rest of the day. With that he turned and began to walk back to his house.  
“Harry! Hey Harry!”  
“What?” he growled.  
“I was just wondering… Who was that man?” asked Cisco.  
“No idea, I forgot his name,” said Harry curtly.  
“No, I mean, what did he want?” asked Cisco.  
“Sex,” Harry replied succinctly, unsure of where this was going, surely they weren’t dull enough to see the lust in the man’s eyes?  
Cisco’s jaw dropped. Maybe they were. Harry looked over at Barry, who was frowning as though he’d just realized something. Harry didn’t know why he suddenly couldn’t meet their eyes, so he just cleared his throat and kept walking.


	5. Suspicio

Earth 1:  
“Hey, Joe,” asked Barry, a serious expression on his face.  
“What?”  
“It’s about Harry. I-I was wondering if you knew, if he’d ever told that he’d been raped?” asked Barry in a rush. “Only, while we were on Earth 2, this man accosted us and Harry said that he wanted to have sex with us… They seemed a lot less moral there and he kept reiterating that we were under his protection to everyone he came across, like that should mean something and-”  
“Yes, I’ve wondered the same thing myself, but I always passed it off. What does Cisco have to say about this?”  
  
Flashback:   
“Cisco?” asked Barry.  
“What?”  
“Well, I was wondering if, well, you think Hary may have been raped,” said Barry hurriedly.  
Cisco choked on his drink, “What did you say?”  
“I- nevermind, forget I asked,” replied Barry.  
“No, no, you definitely said something. Rape is hardly something you would say without good reason. Why do you think Harry was raped? We’ve been with him practically twenty-four seven, when could he have been raped?” asked Cisco.  
“No, no, before he came through the breach, while he lived on Earth 2,” said Barry.  
“You think he was raped on Earth 2,” Cisco said, flatly.  
“Yes, multiple times. Has it really never crossed your mind? I started wondering after we met that guy on Earth 2,” said Barry.  
“Yes, it’s crossed my mind, but-” Cisco paused. “But it’s Harry, he always seems so invincible, no matter what form, he’s smart, intelligent, powerful. It’s Harry. Maybe it’s just about his daughter?”  
Barry sighed, “Maybe.”  
End flashback  
  
“He agreed something was up, but was dubious that it was rape and not something else. He thinks it might have something to do with his daughter,” said Barry, slowly.  
“Always a possibility, we will have to wait and see, won’t we?” said Joe, clapping a hand on Barry’s shoulder and walking away.


	6. Ad Posse ad Esse

“Dad!” Jesse cried, arms open for a hug.  
“Jesse,” Harry murmured, rushing to meet her.  
“Are you alright? Look at your cheek! Wh-”  
“Shhh, I’m fine Jesse,” said Harry, gently.  
Jesse nodded, looking a bit embarrassed. Embarrassed and Jesse? He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen those together. What had happened… Oh. No, no, he wouldn’t.  
“Did he…?” asked Harry, even though he already knew the answer.  
Jesse nodded and Harry spun, punching the wall nearest him.  
“I swear I am going to destroy that monster on every world he lives on,” he snarled. If Barry had thought Harry was angry when he found them outside S.T.A.R. Labs in the middle of the night, he was wrong. Compared to now, Harry had been the epitome of calm then.  
“Dad, don’t make a scene-” Jesse began, but Harry ignored her.  
“You’re mine and until you find someone else mine alone!” shouted Harry.  
“Whoa, I don’t think she belongs to anyone, Harry,” said Cisco.  
Harry spun on him, “Stay out of this,” he spat.  
“What has happened?” asked Joe.  
“Dad is upset because someone tried to lay claim on me,” explained Jesse as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Harry growled and stalked out of the room.  
Everyone stared her blankly.  
“Come again?” asked Barry.  
“Laid claim on me, you know,” said Jesse as if trying to explain something to an idiot.  
“What does that mean?” asked Joe.  
CRASH!  
“I really hope that wasn’t what I think it was,” said Cisco, running out of the room.  
Cisco groaned.  
“It was what I thought it was. Harry! How many time must I tell you to not throw my things when you’re upset!” he shouted. “Do you have any idea how long I spent on that?”  
“The conception or the actual making? Because both could have been halved if you’d just listened to me,” replied Harry acerbically.  
Cisco took opened his mouth, but catching a fleeting glimpse of Harry’s face made him close it. He’d never seen Harry quite so torn between anger and tears.  
“When you’re normal, we’ll be in the Cortex,” he said instead. With that, Cisco turned and walked out of the room.  
When he got back to the Cortex, Jesse was eating and Caitlin was fussing over her.  
“I need to do an exam - just to make sure nothing’s infected or broken,” said Caitlin.  
“I know, I just want to wait until Dad comes down,” said Jesse.  
Caitlin nodded.  
“Alright, we can wait a little longer,” she agreed.  
“You never did explain what ‘laying claim’ to someone means,” said Barry suddenly.  
Jesse sighed, “Look, wait until my dad calms down and ask him, I don’t know how this lines up to your earth and everything, he can explain it better.”  
“Yes, I can.”  
Everyone jumped, no one had heard Harry re-enter the room. There was still an angry set to his jaw and upset was clear in his face, but he seemed calmer. Slowly, he walked to Jesse’s side and put an arm around her. For a moment, he was silent.  
“When we were on Earth 2, do you remember I said that man wanted to have sex with you?” he asked, finally.  
Cisco and Barry nodded.  
“On Earth 2, everything is about station and power. The higher the station, the more people you can lay claim to. Laying claim to someone is a promise of protection, basically. Taking someone under your wing, so to speak. People of higher status lay claim to someone and then whoever that person has laid claim on also shares that protection,” Harry said.  
“What’s bad about that? Surely you are pleased Zoom laid claim to Jesse, then?” asked Caitlin.  
Harry and Jesse winced, “Usually, the person receiving the protection is paying back in someway - often times sex. So often, in fact, that saying you’ve laid claim on someone is to say you are having sex with them,” said Harry.  
“You're having sex with your daughter?” cried Cisco.  
“NO!” cried Harry and Jesse at the same time, both looking rather disgusted.  
The whole room seemed to give a sigh of relief.  
Harry sighed, “I’m not doing a good job at this. Laying claim is only synonymous with having sex when the two people are not related. So laying claims is popular on Earth 2, the number of people claimed shows your power, your strength, but if you’re protecting them, then they should pay you back, that’s usually in sex, but laying claims is one sided, the person laying the claim decides, it doesn’t matter what the other thinks, they still owe you for your protection, right?”  
The silence was almost palpable.  
“You were raped?” asked Caitlin, shocked.  
“What’s rape?” asked Jesse.  
“Forced sex, basically,” said Joe.  
“No, I wasn’t because he didn’t carry through, he talked about it, but he never did. I think he had someone else he wanted. Though it would hardly be a big deal if he had, rape is quite common on our earth, it’s a testament to my dad’s authority that I’ve not been raped yet,” replied Jesse matter-of-factly.  
The tension in the room was, if that was even possible, suddenly increased tenfold.  
“Well, let’s get you settled since you’ll be here,” said Iris, suddenly, her attempt to ease the tension clear as day, but everyone grabbed at it gratefully.  
“Yes, good idea, but I need to check you over first,” said Caitlin, leading Jesse over to where her supplies were.  
“Yeah and maybe Harry would like to rebuild my prototype he decided to break,” said Cisco pointedly.  
Harry glanced at him, “No, you’ve made it abundantly clear you don’t want my help with it.”  
Cisco rolled his eyes and walked out of the room.


	7. Ignotus

"So, this… Rape, was it? I take it your world frowns upon it?” asked Jesse as she, Caitlin, and Iris folded and put away her new clothes.

“Frowns is putting it lightly. More like you could be thrown in jails for years,” answered Iris. Seeing Jesse’s look of surprise, she added, “It’s hardly the strictest punishment, some countries have a death penalty.”

“For having sex with someone?” asked Jesse, incredulously. “How have you not all died off?”

“On Earth-1, we don’t think of rape as sex,” said Caitlin, slowly.

“But you said rape was forced sex,” Jesse reminded them.

“That is the general definition, yes, but…” Iris trailed off, looking at Caitlin helplessly.

“No one’s going to punish you for having sex with someone as long you’re above the age of consent and it’s all consensual, it’s not the sex people are against it’s the fact that the person is forced into it,” finished Caitlin, carefully.

“What is the age of consent?” asked Jesse.

“You don’t have an age of consent on Earth-2?” asked Iris, shocked. Jesse shook her head.

“Here on Earth-1, you have to be at least 16 - most states are even older - to legally have sex, anyone younger cannot lawfully consent and it is considered statutory rape to have sex with anyone under that age,” said Caitlin.

Jesse frowned, "But what do people who aren't 16 yet do for protection? Clean and cook? Monetary compensation?"

Caitlin and Iris glanced at each other. You're the doctor, Iris' eyes seemed to say.

"Here in Earth-1, we think the parent is responsible for protecting the child," said Caitlin.

"And if they can't, what then? What if they are too weak to properly protect the child?" Jesse asked.

"If a parent was deemed unfit, the child would be taken away and-" Caitlin began.

"That's utterly barbaric!" Jesse cried. "You separate families? Because they're too weak too protect each other?"

"No, no, that's not what we're saying. We don't have the same class system you have in Earth-2, we will only take away children who are abused or neglected," Caitlin clarified.

"What system so you have?" asked Jesse.

"Well..." said Caitlin.


	8. Horrible Dictu

For once, the silence was killing him. Well, he amended, not the silence, it was that every now and again, Ramon would glance over at him, as if checking he were still there. And if it wasn’t him, Snow would be checking on him, making sure he had food or drink or whatever thing he wanted. And then there was Allen. He must have traumatized the kid.  Funny, he didn’t realize that was possible. The kid had seen practically everything in his life. He just had to be patient, he reminded himself, they were in shock, an unfortunate side effect of the event a few days ago. Count back from ten. More, if need be, he reminded himself. That was one of the few helpful things he'd learned from that idiot of a psychiatrist. Ramon checked on him. Snow checked on him. Allen gave him a sympathetic look. A few blissful minutes reprieve. Ramon checked on him. Snow was checking on him when his patience, which had been almost empty since Tuesday morning, ran out.

“I’m FINE, Snow!” he shouted. All three of them recoiled. “And you two, stop looking at me like I might shatter!”

“Hold it, Harry, we were just concerned for you. Concern, you know, that thing people show when they find out a friend has been suffering?” said Ramon.

“What is it? I told you I had sex, which isn’t anything new considering Jesse exists, you remember Jesse?” Harry bit back his hand waving at her approximate height.

"No, you told us you were raped and over here, that means something," Cisco returned.

Harry ran his hands through his hair. "Rape, sex, it's all the same to me. I'm used to it, I mean, I would hardly know the difference between the two!" Except it wasn't the same and he knew it. He just didn't know why it was bothering him. It'd always bothered him to some extent. Why else would he have kept Jessie so far away from it? But it has always been that way as far as history went back. Surely it was just him. He was the only one bothered. It was the one weaknesses he'd never been able to stamp out. Never been able to get did of.

"Harry-" Caitlin began.

"I'm fine, it was many years ago, before I opened S.T.A.R. Labs. Besides, a little sex is not the most traumatizing thing that's ever happened to me," he said, but it lacked his normal bite. And it failed to convince the others who, if anything looked even more concerned than before. 

Looking from one to the other and seeing nothing but pity caused a previously dammed torrent of emotions to break free. He swallowed heavily, clamping down on his emotions. He gave each of them one last look that he hoped seemed more like a scowl than it felt, and turned on his heel and left.

The room was quieter for several long moments.

“Cisco,” said Barry, a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Cisco looked at him, “What?”

“About Harry…” Barry trailed off.

“Yes? What about him?”

“Well, what if he was raped, like I said earlier? He’s told us himself he was very poor growing up, had to claw his way up to where he is today. It took him and his wife working together like crazy to get S.T.A.R. Labs open,” Barry said.

“Well, we already guessed he may have been raped, so what is the difference now?” asked Cisco.

“Well, the other thing is… What if he was the rapist?” suggested Barry.

Cisco laughed incredulously, “Harry, a rapist? No way! You’ve got to be joking!”

“Cisco,” said Caitlin, solemnly.

Cisco paused, “You aren’t joking.”

“Unfortunately, the abused does often times become the abuser,” said Barry, sadly.

“But, I mean, it’s Harry. And besides, how would we find out? It’s not like we can go, ‘Hey, hey Harry, did you ever rape anyone on your Earth, even though rape isn’t actually a thing? Only, we kinda want to know, ‘cause if you did, we would have to send you back to your Earth’ he’d lie to us!” protested Cisco.

“We could ask Jesse,” suggested Caitlin.

Cisco held up his hands, "Whoa there, I'm not asking a girl I barely know if her dad has been raping people.

"I'll ask later," Caitlin offered.


End file.
